Chapter 106: Life after a nightmare.

On a day like any other, two men were inside a tea shop, having a meal.

They both seemed to be in their 20s; at least judging by their individual appearance.

One was a man with brown hair and markings on his face in the pattern of a green upside-down triangular figure under each eye; while the other was a man with dark hair, parted sideways and a set of short blades strapped to his back.

The several dishes in front of them decreased as time passed by, while the two men ate everything around their table and leisurely having a banter.

Those two men were obviously Konohagakure shinobi as for the fact that they wore the regular Konohagakure shinobi vest.

A vest granted to those who had at least achieved the rank of chunin.

Showing that the two men were skilled enough and trusted enough to be recognized by their village since not all ninjas can be granted the rank of chunin or jonin; no matter how strong or powerful they were.

Maturity, knowledge, and resourcefulness are characteristics that any shinobi should be able to have in order to ascend up the ranks.

- Tch...I have to go back to patrolling soon.- said the brown-haired man.

- Hmm... I still have about 30 minutes. Where are you patrolling?- replied the other man.

- The lower districts, you? (brown-haired man)

- The eastern district. (dark-haired man)

-Lucky. It's pretty calm over there during that time. (brown-haired man)

The man said flashing a smile.

-Can't be helped. There's largely nothing happening over there since that event...- the man with parted dark hair in the middle declared, as his voice got lower, avoiding mentioning the incident in question.

-...yeah, still feels surreal. It feels almost like yesterday. (brown-haired man)

-Yeah, it's hard to believe that Uchiha Itac-! (dark-haired man)

The shinobi tried to stop himself from finishing to mention the name of the man who was the cause of a major disturbance within the village the previous year.

However, one person soon reacted to the mention of that accursed name.

-!!!

Hearing the name of the infamous mass murderer who used to belong to the now-defunct Uchiha clan, made the person tremble with anger.

That person or rather that boy soon tried to hide his face.

The young boy waiting at the counter of the restaurant they were all in, turned his head for a brief moment.

As the boy's irises turned deep crimson, fortunately, they soon reverted to their original obsidian hue without anyone present mentioning anything.

As he covered his face to not let anyone see such an odd display.

- Shhh. You can't say that in public, moron!- the brown-haired man cut off his friend

- Huh!? Y-you're right. My bad, my bad...it's been so long that I have forgotten all about it. When we got assigned this job I almost couldn't belie-! Hm? Hey, champ! Do you need something?

The man talking to the brown-haired soon realized that the boy who previously sat next to the counter was getting closer to their table.

The boy soon realized his mistake and tried to feign ignorance.

-!!! N- no sorry. I didn't mean to bother you, I thought I heard you calling my name, but I was clearly mistaken.

The boy with monochrome hair had tried to approach the two men to hear their conversation, without even realizing what he was doing.

But was easily discovered.

The two men paid little attention to the boy who had entered the restaurant to deliver crates to the shop owner.

They had seen the boy do the same thing many times prior so they were not suspicious of his actions.

-It's alright, kid. If you ever need some help, Konoha's acting police force is there for you. (Brown-haired man)

-... yes, I will do it. Thank you for protecting our village.

-No problem. It's our job. And it helps that everyone in the village is like family. (Dark-haired man)

-*nod* (Family...)

The boy could only nod to the man's statement

Not because he believed it was the truth, but because he knew how dangerous it could be if he disagreed with the man's rhetoric.

He didn't deem the people of Konohagakure to be his family.

Not that he outright hated the village or its people.

He had no love or any attachment to the village for the village any longer.

A village that agrees to kill a portion of its people and segregate them due to a power they feared, was no village he wanted to be a part of.

Rebutting the man's claims would be pointless. The man did not know him and he did not know the man in front of him.

The boy, Homura, had not greatly changed; but he was now far more self-aware of his actions.

He now was able to see past his own ego and was more emotionally mature.

Or at least more jaded after the traumatic events he witnessed.

If he tried to rebut the man's claims it would only stem from a desire to satisfy his own ego at this point in time; no amount of arguing would be able to bring back anyone or change anything.

So instead of thinking too deeply about anything Homura simply left the restaurant after he finished doing what he went there for.

He walked on the busy streets of Konohagakure carrying a set of crates that he brought for delivery to the restaurant.

Nothing had really changed after that fateful night, except that he was now taller and he was now older.

After all it had been almost a year.

Chapter end